Roof shingle applying machine



Jan. 17, 1967 A. v. MILLER ROOF SHINGLE APPLYING MACHINE 6 SheetsSheet 1Filed March 8, 1965 Alfred v. Miller 17, 1967 A. v. MILLER 3,298,584

ROOF SHINGLE APPLYING MACH'INE Filed March 8, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 2Fig.9

Alfred V. Mil/er o INVENTOR.

Jan. 17, 1967 A. v. MILLER 3,298,584

ROOF SHINGLE APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 8, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR.

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ROOF SHINGLE APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 8, 1965 v 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 iFig. /0 1-! p: I .1221 I84 2 Alfred v. Miller 2 I N VLN TOR BY m WWfi/aznfga United States Patent G l ice.

3,298,584 ROOF SHINGLE APPLYING MACHINE Alfred V. Miller, RR. 7, Box244-A, Evansville, Ind. 47705; Alicia L. Miller, personal representativeof said Alfred V. Miller, deceased Filed Mar. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 437,8508 Claims. (Cl. 227-48) The present invention generally relates to amachine for assisting in the application of composition roof shingles tothe surface of a roof thereby reducing the time necessary in applyingroof shingles and also reducing the labor involved.

The present invention has for an object the provision of a machine forsupporting a plurality of composition roof shingles, dispensing suchshingles, dispensing nails used for holding the shingles in place andincorporating a hammer mechanism therein for driving the nails intotheir secured position.

In using the machine of the present invention, the first course ofcomposition roof shingles are hand nailed in position along the loweredge of the inclined roof surface in a conventional manner. Thereafter,the machine of the present invention may be placed at either end of theroof with guide wheels thereon engaging the top edge of the first courseof shingles. End stops are provided and locked in position for exactlypositioning the first shingle of each course of shingles thus allowingthe operator to move the machine right or left and holding the shinglein its correct nailing position. The machine will dispense the shinglesin substantially their position to be nailed with final positioningbeing a hand operation after which the nail driving mechanism isoperated along with the nail dispensing mechanism for nailing theshingle in proper position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel mechanismfor retaining a plurality of nails in a magazine and dispensing thenails in a desired relationship to a shingle to be nailed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a machine inaccordance with the preceding objects including a nail driving mechanismin the form of hammer structures that are manually set and released fordriving the nails into position for securing the shingles in place.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a machine forapplying roof shingles to a roof including a structure for supporting asupply of roof shingles and dispensing roof shingles sequentially alongeach course of shingles with the shingles being dispensed substantiallyin position for nailing.

Still other objects of the present invention reside in its simplicity ofconstruction, ease of operation, labor saving facilities, and themachine of the present invention is generally inexpensive to manufactureand maintain.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view of the roof shingle applying machineof the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a detailed sectional View taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 22 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the structuraldetails of the shingle engaging mechanism;

FIGURE 3 is a partial perspective view illustrating portions of the naildispensing mechanism and the relationship thereof to the hammermechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the machine;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the machine;

3,298,584 Patented Jan. 17, 1967 FIGURE 6 is a transverse, sectionalview, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially upon a plane passingalong section line 6-6 of FIGURE 4 illustrating further structuraldetails of the hammer mechanism and the association of the naildispensing mechanism therewith as well as the shingle dispensingmechanism;

FIGURE 7 is a detailed bottom view taken along section line 7-7 ofFIGURE 5 illustrating the nail dispensing mechanism, the hammermechanism and the relationship therebetween;

FIGURE 8 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 88 of FIGURE 7 illustrating further sectionaldetails of the hammers and their relationship to the nail holdingmechanism;

FIGURE 9 is a detailed sectional view illustrating the construction ofthe hammers and the mechanism for locking and releasing the same;

FIGURE 10 is a detailed sectional view taken generally upon a planepassing along section line 10-10 of FIG- URE 5 illustrating furtherstructural details of the hammer and nail dispensing mechanism;

FIGURE 11 is a detailed perspective view with parts broken awayillustrating further structure of the hammer mechanism;

FIGURE 12 is a detailed sectional view taken generally along a planepassing along section line 12-12 of FIG- URE l0 illustrating the naildispensing mechanism;

FIGURE 13 is a schematic view illustrating the first step in applyingthe shingles; and

FIGURE 14 is a plan schematic view illustrating the orientation of theguide wheels when applying the second and subsequent courses ofshingles.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 20 generallydesignates the roof shingle applying machine of the present inventionfor use in applying shingles to an inclined roof surface 22. Theshingles are designated by numeral 24 and are conventional compositionroof shingles with the conventional construction thereof being bestillustrated in FIGURES 13 and 14 with the shingles 24 being applied inhorizontally arranged courses extending from end to end of the roof. Ininstalling the shingles 24, the first course of shingles are hand nailedin place along the bottom edge portion of the roof 22 in a conventionalmanner in that the lowermost course of shingles and subsequent coursesof shingles are used as a guide for the roof shingle applying machine ofthe present invention by virtue of the machine having guide mechanismsassociated with and engaging certain of the top edges of the courses ofshingles.

The machine 20 includes end walls, members or plates 26 and 28 having aconfiguration as illustrated in FIG- URE 1 and the two end plates 26 and28 are interconnected rigidly by a rear side frame member 30 and a frontframe member 32 secured to the end plates 26 and 28 in any suitablemanner. Along the rear longitudinal member 30, there is mounted a pairof supporting brackets 34 and 36 which support tapered wheels 38 and 40which are journaled thereon and which have an inclined peripheralsurface generally conforming with the inclination of the roof 22 forrolling supporting engagement therewith for supporting the rear portionof the machine 20.

Attached to the front frame member 32 is a pair of dependinglongitudinally spaced brackets 42 and 44 rotatably supporting frontsupport wheels 46 and 48 which are tapered in the same manner as thewheels 38 and 40 generally at the same angle as the inclined roofsurface. Also, the brackets 42 and 44 are longer than the brackets 34and 36 thus supporting the machine in generally a vertical uprightmanner as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 6 with the bottom edge of the endplates 26 and 28 being inclined also generally in the same manner as theroof 22 and generally in the same plane as the inclined lower edges ofthe wheels which support the machine.

Extending between the end members 26 and 28 is a forwardly inclinedsupporting plate 50 having a plurality of longitudinally spacedhook-like members 52 attached to the lower edge thereof and extendingrearwardly and upwardly to form a supporting ledge for a plurality ofroof shingles 24 which are orientated in vertical forwardly inclinedposition with the top edges thereof extending above the top edge of theend plates adjacent the forward edge thereof as illustrated in FIGURES 1and 6.

Disposed rearwardly of and below the hook-like mem bers 52 is anelongated supporting plate 56 which extends between the end plates ormembers 26 and 28 and is inclined upwardly and rearwardly for receivingshingles 24 as they are manually deposited from the hook-likeprojections 52 onto the supporting plate 56. The shingle 24 isillustrated in dotted line in FIGURE 6 and due to the inclined surfacethereof the shingle will be discharged downwardly and forwardly in thedirection of the arrow for positioning on the roof 22.

Supported on each end member 26 and 28 is a bracket structure 58 and 60each of which has an angulated upwardly extending end portion 62 forrotatably journaling guide wheels 64 and 66 which are provided with abeveled or tapered peripheral surface having the small diameterorientated towards the forward edge thereof so that the inclined edge ofthe wheels 64 and 66 will engage the upper edge of a course of shingles24 in place as illustrated in FIGURES 6, 13 and 14.

Also extending between the end walls 26 and 28 is a bottom longitudinalmember 68 which extends through the end members 26 and 28 and has aledge 69 on the front edge and a grooved guide wheel 70 at one endthereof and a grooved guide wheel 72 at the other end thereof rotatablyjournaled by a suitable journal bolt 74. A supporting bracket 76 isprovided for each projecting end of the member 68 and is engaged withand mounted on the end plates or members 26 and 28 respectively forsecurely supporting the guide wheels 70 and 72 from the end members 26and 28.

Also extending longitudinally of the end members 26 and 28 is a frontbottom member 78 which has a bottom surface generally paralleling andforming an extension of the bottom edges of the inclined wheels 38, 40,46 and 48. The ends of the front bottom member 78 are supported bybracket members 80 which are connected to the top surface of the member78 and extends into overlying engagement with the brackets 58 asillustrated in FIG- URE 1. Also, angular supporting gussets 82 mayextend between the front member 78 and the brackets 42 and 44 whichsupport the wheels 46 and 48 respectively thus further rigidifying thefront member 78.

At each end of the machine, there is provided a mechanism for locking ashingle in relation to the machine so that the machine may be movedeither from right to left or left to right. The mechanism is identicalat each end of the machine and includes an elongated rod 84 extendingalongside of the end member 26 as illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 2 in anupwardly and forwardly inclined direction generally paralleling theshingles 24. The rod 84 has a downwardly opening U-shaped yoke 86 at thelower end thereof and is guidingly received through a guide lug 88having an enlarged aperture 90 therein for enabling longitudinalmovement of the rod and also enabling limited lateral movement of therod generally about the lower end of the yoke 86. The upper end of therod 84 has a hand grip or handle 92 thereon orientated generally alongthe top edge of the end member 26 for ease of grasping thereof. Also,the rod 84 has an offset shoulder forming portion 94 above the guide lug88 and below the hand grip 92 for selective orientation under anabutment member 96. By moving the rod 84 laterally outwardly about apivot point at the lower end of the yoke 86, the offset shoulder formingportion 94 may be disengaged from the abutment 96 thus enabling the rod84 to move longitudinally upwardly. By pushing the rod 84 longitudinallydownwardly and moving it inwardly towards the end member 26, theshoulder offset portion 94 may be engaged under the abutment 96 andretainedthereunder by the frictional engagement between the abutment 96and the shoulder forming portion 94 as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The lower end of the yoke 86 is attached to one end portion of anangulated member 98 by the use of a pivot pin or bolt 100. The centralportion of the angulated member 98 is pivotally supported by a pivotbolt 182 extending through supporting lugs provided at each edge of aslot 104 formed in the bottom edge portion of the end member 26 wherebythe lower end 106 of the angulated member 98 may swing in an arcuatepath towards and away from the surface of the ledge 69 for engagementwith shingle 24 to be nailed for moving the shingle to be nailed intoabutting engagement with the end of a shingle previously nailed byphysically moving the machine. A tension spring 108 is provided betweenthe lower end of the rod 84 and a bracket 110 on the end member 26adjacent the guide lug 88 for normally urging the rod 84 upwardly thusurging the end 106 of the angulated member 98 into engagement with theledge 69 and the shingle resting thereon.

Each of the end members 26 and 28 includes an upwardly and forwardlyinclined supporting member 112 extending upwardly and forwardly from thefront corner edge t'hereof as illustrated in FIGURE 1. Interconnectingthe ends of the upwardly extending support members 112 is a longitudinalmember 114 and interconnecting the lower ends of the support members 112is a lower support member 116 thus forming a rigid support for aplurality of hammer mechanisms and nail storing and dispensingmechanisms. There are four nail storage arrangements 118 as illustratedin FIGURE 5 and each of these arrangements include a generally upwardlyand forwardly inclined channel-shaped magazine 120 having inturnedforward flanges 122 defining a longitudinal slot 124 receiving theshanks of the nails 126 with the heads of the nails being retained bythe inturned flanges 122 to retain the nails in a vertical stack asillustrated in FIGURE 10. At the upper and lower end of eachchannel-shaped magazine 120 laterally extending lugs 128 are providedfor securing the magazine to the upper and lower support members 114 and116. The upper end of the magazine includes a laterally extending lug130 which extends partly over the upper member 114 for engagement by aloading magazine 132 illustrated in FIGURE 10. At the lower end of themagazine 120, the magazine is curved rearwardly and the side wallsthereof are omitted as at 134 thus forming a top plate 136 and a slottedbottom plate 138 having a discharge slot 140 therein which is acontinuation of the slot 124 as illustrated in FIGURE 3 and this end ofthe magazine 1220 terminates under the forward edge portion of the lowersupport member 116 as seen in FIGURE 10.

For controlling dispensing of the nails to the lower end of the magazine120, there is provided a plurality of arcuately curved trigger fingers142 orientated in the path of movement of the shingles as they slide offof the inclined supporting member 56. The arcuately curved fingers 142are rigidly fixed to an elongated rod 144 that is longitudinallydisposed and journaled in lugs 146 formed on a bracket 148 supportedfrom the longitudinal frame member 32. The rod 144 is provided with aplurality of laterally extending members 150 engaging the hook end of aconnecting rod 152 in which the hook end of the rod is engaged over thelaterally extending end 150. The hook rod 152 has its other endpivotally connected to a laterally extending arm 154 of a generallyrectangular dispensing mechanism which includes a pair of arms 156extending along opposite sides of the magazine 1129 and a vertical baror plate 158 integral with the arms 156 and having a depending ear 16ftpivotally attached to the rear wall of the magazine 1219 by a pivot bolt162 whereby the assembly formed by the arms 156 and plate 158 may pivotabout the axis of the bolt 162 for rocking m'ovement in the mannerillustrated in FIGURE 12.

The two arms 1% terminate in inwardly extending aligned and opposed arms164 which terminate in inclined ends 166 thus forming an inclined slotgenerally in alignment with the slot 124 in the magazine 1219. FIGURE 7illustrates the orientation of the arms 164 and the inclined ends 166wherein they normally are orientated in blocking relation to the nail asobserved from below and when the discharge assembly is pivoted such aswhen the trigger 142 is moved downwardly as illustrated in FIGURE 3, theslot formed by the inclined edges 166 will momentarily be aligned withthe slot 124 for discharging a single nail from each magazine 120. Twoof the magazines work in conjunction with each other and the rod 144 hasan offset portion 151) at each end thereof and a single trigger 142 atthe center thereof as illustrated in FIGURE 7. This structure operatesto dispense two nails in response to each time a trigger finger 142 isactuated by a shingle.

- Associated with each of the magazines is a hammer assembly 168 each ofwhich is in the form of an elongated rod 170 having a notch 172 in thelower end portion thereof together with an enlarged head 174 on thelower end which has a substantially flat un-dersurface and is hollow andprovided with a magnetic insert 176 secured in place by a setscrew 178.The magnetized insert 176 terminates flush with the lower surface of thehead 174 for forming a relatively enlarged striking surface for thenails 126. The rod 176) is slidable within a tubular sleeve 180 whichextends to the upper sur face of the lower support member 116 andextends up through an aperture 182 in the upper support member 114 asillustrated in FIGURE with the upper end of the sleeve 18f) terminatingin a head 184 resting against the top surface of the top supportingmember 114. The sleeve or guide tube 180 is provided with diametricallyopposed elongated longitudinal slots 1236 which receives a pin-likefastener 133 which extends therethrough and which extends through theupper end of the rod 1711 as illustrated in FIGURE 10 thus guiding themovement of the rod 17% in the tube and preventing rotation of the rod171) about its longitudinal axis during reciprocation of the rod 171 inthe guide tube 181).

The fastening pin, bolt, rivet or the like 188 also extends through aslide 190 in the form of a sleeve which encircles the guide tube 1% andwhich is inserted, at least partially, within the upper end of a coilcompression spring 192. The sleeve 1% is provided with projecting lugsor pins 194 for engagement with the upper end of the spring and thepin-type fastener 188 is insertable into a selective aperture 1% in therod 170 to vary the initial compression of the spring 192.

Extending between the adjacent hammer assemblies 116 is an elongatedactuating plate 198 having an elongated handle forming rod 2% attachedthereto and ex tending upwardly through a guide opening 2112 in theupper support member 114. The upper end of the rod 260 is provided witha transverse handle member 2194 for enabling the actuating plate 198 tobe moved upwardly. For guiding movement of the actuator plate 1%, a pairof guide rods 2% are provided which extend through the plate 198 and upthrough the upper support member 114- and terminate in offset ends abovethe lower support member 116. Abutments 2518 in the form of sleeves areadjustably attached to the rods 2% and small cushion springs 21% aremounted on the rods 2% under d the abutments 2118 for cushioning upwardmovement of the plate 1%.

The outer ends of the plate 193 have a projecting lug 212 thereon thatis bifurcated by the provision of a notch 214. The end of the spring 192has a laterally extending end portion 21% which extends under and upinto a socket in the bottom of the actuating member 198 so that as theactuating member 193 is forced downwardly the spring 192 will betensioned when the rod 179 is retained in an elevated or retractedposition. A latching means is provided for the rod 171 and includes agenerally L- shaped latch actuating member 218 that is pivotallysupported in a slot-like opening 22% in the lower supporting member 116by a pivot pin 222 which supports the L- shaped member 21% adjacent theouter end of the arm thereof pivoted to the lower support member 116.The apex of the L-shaped member 216 is engaged with a flat leaf springstructure 224- that has the center thereof secured to the lower supportmember 116 and the upwardly extending arm 226 of the L-shaped member 218is arcuately curved and terminates in an inclined upper end 228 forengagement by the lower surface of the actuating plate 1% when theactuating plate 198 is forced downwardly to its lowermost position. Alatching ele ment 23d is pivoted in the slot 226 by a pivot pm 232 andthe latching element has a projecting lug 234- which is engageable inthe notch 172 in the rod 170. The latch element 231) is provided with anabutment surface 236 in opposed relation to the lug 234 which is engagedby the end of the L-shaped member 218 when the lower edge of thelatching element 2% is in alignment with the lower' edge of the lowerarm of the L-shaped member 218 as illustrated in FEGURE 8. The spring224 Will maintain these components in this condition until such time asthe actuating plate 198 engages the end 228 of the upwardly curved arm226 of the L-shaped member 218 at which point the L-shaped member 218will be pivoted to the position illustrated in FIGURE 9 thus releasingrod 171 When the actuating plate 193 is again elevated, the conditionillustrated in FIGURE 8 will again exist. Thus, with the springtensioned by downward movement of the actuating plate 193, the releaseof the latching lug 234' will release the hammer mechanism to enable thehead to lower and drive a nail under the impetus of the tensionedspring.

Attached to the actuating plate 198, an eye member 233 is engaged by oneend of a flexible rope or cable member 2411} that extends downwardlyover a guide pulley 242 carried by a U-shaped bracket 24-4- on the edgeof the lower supporting member 116 which then extends forwardly and iscentrally secured to an offset arm 246 on an elongated rod 248 supportedpivotally by brackets 2511 on the lower surface of the supporting member116. The ends of the rod 243 are laterally offset as at 252 and havetension springs 254 attached thereto. The other ends of the tensionspring are connected to offset ends 256 on rods 258 which support anL-shaped plate 260 therefrom between the lugs of a mounting bracket 262which is actually a rectangular member having a tension spring 264connected to the outer wall thereof and also connected to the L-shapedmember as at 266 adjacent the apex thereof. The L-shaped member 261) isprovided with a lower leg 26:8 that is slotted as at 271) to registerwith and align with the slot in the lower plate 138 as illustrated inFIGURE 3. Thus, each time the actuatingplate 1% is lowered, the hammerhead 174 will be released after the spring has been tensioned and alsothe lower leg 268 will be actuated to withdraw from engagement with thenail so that the nail may be driven completely downwardly to the desiredposition with the slots 141) and 27% serving to retain the nail inposition until such time as the hammer is released with the releasingoperation of the hammer head occurring substantially simultaneously withthe withdrawal of the leg forming the slot 270.

FIGURE 13 illustrates the first step in operation of the invention inwhich the first course of shingles has been hand nailed and the secondrow of shingles has been started with the guide wheels 64 and 66engaging the top edge of the first course of shingles 24. FIG- URE 14illustrates the second step in which the wheel 64 is operative but thewheel 66 is not operative and not being used inasmuch as it is rollingon top of the surface of the last shingle nailed. The guide wheel 70illustrated in FIGURE 14 is not in use while the guiding wheel 72 is inuse in that it engages the upper edge of the shingle 24 just nailed. Ofcourse, if the machine is operating in the reverse direction, then theopposite supporting and guide wheels will be in use. The guide wheels 70and 72 are spool type wheels having a central groove aligned with thetop surface of the supporting ledge 69 rigid with support member 68 forreceiving the back edge of a shingle resting thereon as illustrated inFIGURE 6. Also, the shingle 24 when approaching support wheels 46 and 48will engage the pendulum type guards 47 mounted by pivot bolts 49 infront of the wheels to prevent frictional engagement therewith.

In operation, after the machine has been positioned and the shinglemanually dropped and properly positioned in abutting aligned engagementwith the adjacent shingle, the handles 204 are depressed and all theoperations are automatic in that the nails will be automatically driveninto position. The handles 204 are then merely pulled upwardly to resetthe hammers by virtue of the connection between the lower ends of therods 206 being connected to the upper end of the latch actuator 218 andthe end of the actuating plate 198 being connected with the lower end ofthe spring which will cause the rod 170 to move upwardly when theactuating plate 198 is moved upwardly. Adjustment of the abutment 208will be such as to orientate the point of operation of the actuatingmember 218 when the notch 172 is aligned with the lug 234.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a machine for applying composition roof shingles to a roof of thetype having a frame, means rollingly supporting the frame on the roof,means on the frame for supporting a plurality of shingles to be applied,means supporting a shingle in position on the roof, that improvementcomprising a nail dispensing mechanism on said frame for dispensingnails for the shingles and holding them in position, and hammering meanscarried by the frame for driving the nails through the shingle into theroof for securing the shingle in place, said hammering means includingan elongated rod having a hammer head on one end thereof, means mountingthe elongated rod for reciprocation on the frame, latch means releasablyretaining the rod and hammer head in retracted position, and anelongated drive spring associated with the rod for spring biasing therod and hammer head downwardly whereby release of the latch means willrelease the hammer head to drive a nail.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein a reciprocating actuatingplate is mounted on said frame and engaged with one end of said spring,the other end of said spring being connected with said rod wherebytensioning of the spring will bias said rod, and means on the lower edgeof said actuating plate for releasing said latch means in response tomovement of the actuating plate.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said last named meansincludes an L-shaped lever pivotally mounted on said frame, said latchmeans including a latch element pivotally mounted on said frame, saidrod including a notch therein adjacent the hammer head, said latchelement having a lug thereon engageable with said notch, spring meansbiasing said L-shaped lever into engagement with said latch element forengaging said lug in said notches when the rod is elevated.

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 together with return rodsconnected to said L-shaped lever and engageable by said actuating platewhen elevated thereby resetting the latch elements when the actuatingplate is elevated.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said hammer head isprovided with a downwardly opening socket, a magnetic insert in saidsocket for magnetic attraction of nail heads.

6. In a machine for applying composition roof shingles to a roof of thetype having a frame, means rollingly supporting the frame on the roof,means on the frame for supporting a plurality of shingles to be applied,means supporting a shingle in position on the roof, that improvementcomprising a nail dispensing mechanism on said frame for dispensingnails for the shingles and holding them in position, and hammering meanscarried by the frame for driving the nails through the shingle into theroof for securing the shingle in place, said nail dispensing mechanismincluding a vertically elongated magazine of channel-shapedconfiguration and provided with inturned flanges defining a verticalslot through which the shanks of the nails project with the headsthereof being confined by said flanges, the lower end of said magazinebeing curved into a position under said hammering means, and meansmounted adjacent said slot for dispensing a single nail at a timedownwardly into the curved lower end of the magazine.

7. The structure as defined in claim 6 wherein said last named meansincludes a rocking element having an inclined slot therein aligned withthe slot in the magazine and being rockable for aligning the slot andthe rocking member with the slot in the magazine thereby dispensing asingle nail.

8. The structure as defined in claim 7 together with an L-shaped guideelement aligned with the discharge end of the slot in the lower end ofthe magazine for holding the nail in position under the hammering means,and means responsive to release of the hammering means to withdraw theguide means for the nail thereby enabling the hammering means tocompletely drive the nail.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 463,106 11/1891Dees. 610,943 9/1898 Lanning. 706,805 8/ 1902 Daigneault 227-111GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, 111., Primary Examiner.

1. IN A MACHINE FOR APPLYING COMPOSITION ROOF SHINGLES TO A ROOF OF THETYPE HAVING A FRAME, MEANS ROLLINGLY SUPPORTING THE FRAME ON THE ROOF,MEANS ON THE FRAME FOR SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF SHINGLES TO BE APPLIED,MEANS SUPPORTING A SHINGLE IN POSITION ON THE ROOF, THAT IMPROVEMENTCOMPRISING A NAIL DISPENSING MECHANISM ON SAID FRAME FOR DISPENSINGNAILS FOR THE SHINGLES AND HOLDING THEM IN POSITION, AND HAMMERING MEANSCARRIED BY THE FRAME FOR DRIVING THE NAILS THROUGH THE SHINGLE INTO THEROOF FOR SECURING THE SHINGLE IN PLACE, SAID HAMMERING MEANS INCLUDINGAN ELONGATED ROD HAVING A HAMMER HEAD ON ONE END THEREOF, MEANS MOUNTINGTHE ELONGATED ROD FOR RECIPROCATION ON THE FRAME, LATCH MEANS RELEASABLYRETAINING THE ROD AND HAMMER HEAD IN RETRACTED POSITION, AND ANELONGATED DRIVE SPRING ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROD FOR SPRING BIASING THEROD AND HAMMER HEAD DOWNWARDLY WHEREBY RELEASE OF THE LATCH MEANS WILLRELEASE THE HAMMER HEAD TO DRIVE A NAIL.